Zombie Waves Guide: Craft Your Ultimate Slayer Build!

Table of Contents

1. Post-Apocalyptic World: Unveiling the Hack & Slash Survival Saga

Welcome to this game! Developed by Fun Formula, this title perfectly embodies the essence of the survival roguelike genre, thrusting players into relentless hack & slash combat against an unending onslaught of zombies. Launched on October 6, 2022, this title is the ultimate survival game where you must defeat all attacking zombies in each stage to stay alive. Your objective is clear: eliminate zombies, accumulate experience, level up, enhance various abilities, and endure for a limited time. Join me now as we delve deeply into how this plays, and how you can survive and triumph in this desperate zombie apocalypse, exploring its comprehensive guide.

The hack & slash genre is perfectly implemented. You'll single-handedly traverse battlefields, fending off countless zombies. There's no complex story; the moment you begin, you're immediately thrown onto a zombie-infested field, engaging in a fierce struggle for survival. This zombie apocalypse atmosphere deepens amidst diverse yet eerie backdrops like ruined factories, dark and bizarre subway stations, and abandoned playgrounds. You might even find yourself startled when bug zombies rapidly fly towards you in the gloomy subway station. These settings maximize immersion, transforming you into a true survivor.

Simple Yet Strategic Control System:

Controls are incredibly straightforward. Much like Vampire Survivors, you simply drag the screen to move your character across the broad field, dodging enemies. Your character automatically targets and attacks zombies within range, requiring no other complex actions. This simplicity allows anyone to easily enjoy, relishing the thrilling combat of hack & slash while focusing on movement and evasion.

The sound effects and background music generally deliver high satisfaction, elevating the game's atmosphere. However, some users have noted that the hit feedback for attacks, especially elemental ones, feels somewhat like cutting water, which can be a minor disappointment. Despite these small imperfections, it is generally well-regarded as a quite enjoyable game and comes highly recommended by many players.

2. Core Game Modes: Commanding Your Playtime

It offers diverse game modes to keep players engaged, each with its unique playtime and objectives. Effectively utilizing these modes is crucial not only for in-game progression but also for long-term enjoyment without boredom.

3 Main Game Modes:

It is broadly divided into three main game modes, presenting players with various challenges and pleasures.

  • 1. Main Game Mode: 10+ Minutes of Intense Survival

    The Main Game Mode demands a long playtime of over 10 minutes per round. It's the core content where you must survive for a limited time amidst endless zombie waves. Including skill selection time, actual playtime takes approximately 13 minutes. With longer playtime comes richer rewards, and this mode maximally tests your strategic judgment and control skills.

  • 2. Stage Challenge Mode: Quick Breakthroughs in ~5 Minutes

    The Stage Challenge Mode has a relatively short playtime of around 5 minutes per round. This mode focuses on achieving specific objectives or clearing limited waves. Successfully clearing a stage awards game currency, various items, and valuable special items. It's optimized for rapid repeat play to farm essential resources needed for progression.

  • 3. Daily Trial Mode: Story-Driven Special Rewards

    The Daily Trial Mode features varying playtimes for each mode. In this mode, you can clear story-specific games, earning special items related to that story and main events as rewards. Daily Trials offer a great opportunity to immerse yourself in the game's background story while also acquiring rare items.

Efficient Time Management and Play Habits:

The Main Game, Stage Challenge, and Daily Trial modes mentioned above are like daily quests that are important to play consistently, logging in once a day. Playing regularly this way will lead you to become so immersed you'll lose track of time. Although the initial progression might feel somewhat long, it includes a 2x speed function. However, note that this feature is only activated by spending real money (paid currency) or by clearing very distant main stages.

While the relatively long playtime might sometimes lead to boredom, it's amply offset by the various rewards and growth elements obtained in-game, and the exhilaration of strengthening your character by choosing new skills. Considering the playtime of each mode, flexibly enjoying it to fit your daily routine is the secret to enjoying it for a long time.

3. Weapon Guide: Crafting the Ultimate Early to Late Game Arsenal

To survive and efficiently decimate powerful zombie hordes, selecting the right weapon is paramount. The game features various types of guns and crossbows, each possessing unique characteristics and potential. A higher-tier weapon isn't always the sole answer; the key lies in choosing and enhancing the optimal weapon to match your playstyle and current situation.

Weapon Types and Acquisition Methods:

Currently, seven types of guns are obtainable for free: Bazooka, Sniper Rifle, Crossbow, Shotgun, Lightning, Exploder, and now the Wind Rifle. All other advanced weapons can only be purchased by collecting gems or spending real money (paid currency). While it might feel like games always come down to spending money, you can still acquire powerful weapons and progress sufficiently as a free-to-play user.

Acquired weapons can be significantly boosted in attack power through general upgrades and promotions. This requires collecting materials or spending real money. Fortunately, the resources used for weapon leveling and promotion can be infinitely reset. This feature allows you to freely experiment with various weapons without worrying about wasted resources, helping you find what suits you best. Since weapon performance can vary by stage and situation, it's recommended to try out different ones.

Early Game Weapon Choice and Option Strategy: Focus on Range and Area Damage!

In the early game, the difficulty changes significantly based on the options you choose rather than just raw weapon damage. Before acquiring the Sniper Rifle, it's crucial to get a feel for the game. When comparing the Auto Rifle and Shotgun, it's best to only use the Auto Rifle initially. Even if you acquire the Shotgun, the Auto Rifle remains more efficient. Once you can use the Heavy Machine Gun, it's advisable to switch to it immediately.

The early game Tier 1 option is Fury. Fury is an area damage option that deals damage to all enemies within range, making it essential for efficiently clearing incoming zombies. Additionally, it's recommended to also select options that deal extra damage to Elite/Boss monsters. Trying to win by simply enduring without defeating bosses is practically a reckless endeavor.

For the early game, before acquiring the Sniper Rifle, the recommended option combination is as follows: Instead of solely relying on raw bullet damage with options like Fury, Lightning, Punishment, Boss Damage Increase, and Magazine Size Increase, buff-type options that boost hunting efficiency are far more useful. This combination significantly helps in clearing early waves stably.

Sniper Rifle Utilization: Dominating the Battlefield with Ghost Spawns!

Once you acquire the Sniper Rifle, the importance of option selection increases significantly. The Sniper Rifle's efficiency varies greatly depending on the options chosen, and new users might easily dismiss it as useless or weak. However, the Sniper Rifle's true value lies in its special option. Directly, Ghost Spawn upon Enemy Death. This Ghost is surprisingly powerful, tracking enemies like a homing missile to deal additional damage.

Thanks to the Ghost Spawn option, your option selection widens considerably. First, having at least two Fury options is essential for stable play. Therefore, when entering a stage with the Sniper Rifle, it's always best to choose Fury initially. Also, since the Sniper Rifle has a base magazine size of 1, it creates a powerful synergy with the Punishment option.

For the Sniper Rifle, a highly recommended additional option is to seek out the 3 Bullets Fired upon Enemy Death option. With this option alone, you'll be incredibly powerful in monster hunting. However, a drawback is that its wide hunting range can make it difficult to pick up experience. Other options that synergize well with the Sniper Rifle include:

  • Fragment Burst (3 bullets fired upon enemy death)
  • Spectacular Encore (10 additional bullets fired upon last bullet)
  • Freeze-related options (immobilize enemies for stable damage)
  • Boss Additional Damage
  • Punishment

Conversely, the Sniper Rifle with Lightning-type, Trajectory Increase-type, and Flame-type options do not synergize well. By choosing options as described above and focusing on bullet damage, you can maximize the efficiency of this weapon (Sniper Rifle). While any option can be good, it's advisable to experiment with them one by one based on the information provided to find your optimal build.

Bazooka: The Ultimate Weapon for Easy Annihilation!

By the time you can effectively use the Bazooka, your gameplay will likely become virtually effortless. The Bazooka's options are generally similar to the Sniper Rifle's. Focusing on bullet damage when hunting will lead to overwhelming firepower. Since the Bazooka doesn't have a long range, it's crucial to increase its range via the Fury option.

The best option for the Bazooka is Mini Magazine. This option fixes the magazine size to 1 but provides increased damage and faster reload speed. As the Bazooka's inherent characteristic is to fire a large shell upon firing the last bullet, combining it with the Mini Magazine option creates an incredibly powerful synergy, delivering immense explosive damage. In fact, by the time you can use the Bazooka, you will likely have a decent understanding of the game and move into the mid-to-late game progression. At this point, you should be able to determine your optimal growth path and strategy independently.

4. Skill Tree Mastery: Random Skills for Victorious Builds

Upon defeating zombies and collecting experience orbs, each time you level up, you can choose 1 out of 3 new skills. This skill selection is a crucial factor that determines the flow and difficulty. However, skills appear purely at random, and unfortunately, there's no refresh function. Let's explore how to find the optimal skill combination and build a winning strategy amidst this randomness.

Basic Principles of Leveling Up and Skill Acquisition:

You level up by defeating zombies and collecting experience orbs they drop. The game shows your current experience percentage in real-time, making it convenient for strategic decision-making on whether to actively pick up experience or maintain a stationary damage output. Skills offered upon leveling up are categorized into 1-star, 2-star, and 3-star, and can be upgraded in stages. Since 1-star, 2-star, and 3-star skills appear randomly, you must make wise choices based on the situation.

Early Game Build Choices: Bullet Enhancement vs. Elemental Utilization:

Deciding which build to focus on from the start of play is crucial. There are two main build directions:

  • 1. Bullet Enhancement Build:

    The Bullet Enhancement build focuses on stats like bullet count, penetration, bullet size, attack power, and attack speed. This build shows strong performance in the early game and provides stable firepower, ensuring stability for clearing stages smoothly from start to finish. However, as it relies entirely on bullets, it might reach a limit in the mid-to-late game.

  • 2. Element (Freeze, Lightning, Flame, etc.) Utilization Build:

    The Elemental build focuses on stats like elemental effects, attack speed, bullet count, and ricochet. While this build might be slightly challenging in the early game, it can easily progress through stages from the mid-game onwards thanks to its elemental firepower and high utility. Notably, bosses can be inflicted with Freeze status, making them easy to neutralize. Skills like Lightning and Meteor also allow for effective wave clearing in unexpected areas, proving highly useful.

Ultimate Skills and Secret Techniques (Bi-geup) Strategy:

Approximately 2 minutes into play, the first Elite Monster appears. Defeating an Elite Monster drops a purple upgrade box, which allows you to upgrade your ultimate skills. Therefore, it's crucial to select skills with ultimates early on and quickly upgrade them to the 3rd stage.

Bosses appear a total of 3 times, and defeating a boss drops a red secret technique (Bi-geup) item. This secret technique is a core item that significantly boosts your firepower beyond basic stats, so you must choose wisely to match your current build. For example, a bullet build would benefit from increased attack power and bullet size, while an elemental build would benefit from increased firing speed, ricochet, and elemental attack power, maximizing efficiency. It is highly recommended to defeat bosses to acquire these secret techniques.

Recommended Skills and Wave-Specific Strategies:

Waves generally consist of Minor Mobs - Here they come!! - Elite - Boss. In the early game, it's best to acquire skills that effectively handle incoming zombie hordes, and then prepare your ultimate skill tree before Elite Monsters appear.

In the very early game, there aren't many useful skills besides Ice or Fire elemental ones. However, particularly good recommended skills for multi-mob hunting are as follows:

  • Slaughter: One of the skill trees offering boss-mob options, it has a powerful effect that instantly kills mobs if their HP is below 15%.
  • Fury: A 1-star skill that expands your field of view and hits all enemies within range, functioning as an area-of-effect skill. It pressures enemies like in the Korean game "Red Light, Green Light, you moved!"
  • Devotion: Also a 1-star skill, similar to Fury, providing area damage.
  • Fragment Burst: A 2-star skill in the powerful shooting tree, it causes bullets to scatter upon defeating a zombie. This is highly effective for clearing multiple zombies simultaneously.

Acquiring these four skills (Slaughter, Fury, Devotion, Fragment Burst) in the early game allows for stable continuous damage. However, when boss monsters appear, you'll still need to evade slightly according to their attack patterns. Boss attack patterns are relatively simple and can be understood within about 10 rounds of play. Through these skill builds and wave response strategies, you'll be able to efficiently clear all stages.

5. Accelerated Growth: Efficient Farming & Smart Resource Use

To consistently grow and cultivate a powerful character, efficient farming strategies and smart resource utilization are essential. For free-to-play users, it's especially crucial to maximize limited resources to accelerate growth. Here are key strategies and resource management tips for your progression.

Daily Missions and Ad Viewing: Consistency is Key!

  • 1. Daily and Weekly Missions: Secure Gems and Item Coupons

    The daily missions and weekly missions provided every day are the most basic means to acquire gems and item coupons. Consistently clearing these missions is the only way for free-to-play users to earn in-game currency needed to climb ranks. This allows you to steadily acquire crucial resources and build a foundation for growth.

  • 2. Ad Viewing Rewards: A Must-Do for F2P Players

    In the Shop at the bottom left, you can receive diamonds, gold, gear, and weapon chests by watching ads once a day. For free-to-play users, watching all ads and collecting items is an essential part of progression. While it would be nice if there were ads that could be muted, unskippable audio can be somewhat inconvenient. Nevertheless, consistent ad viewing remains a vital pillar of in-game resource acquisition.

The Importance of Diamond Usage: Focus on Weapon Chips!

The diamonds you acquire are extremely valuable. It is highly recommended to use all diamonds on weapon chips. The reason is that while armor is generally easy to acquire in the mid-game, weapon chips can be insufficient, leading to significantly diminished weapon performance and much regret later on. The experience of spending diamonds early on just to get one purple gear item can lead to regret later. Therefore, focus your diamond investments on acquiring weapon chips to maximize your attack power.

Auto-Hunt and Quick Hunt: The Thrill of Automatic EXP Gain!

One of the greatest advantages, and a reason to keep playing, is the ability to automatically acquire experience through ad viewing or spending real money. Thanks to this feature, you no longer have to risk your life to pick up fallen experience orbs on the ground!

Activating the Auto-Collect Robot allows it to cleanly gather all fallen experience orbs approximately every 25 seconds. Especially during "Here they come!!" waves, you can level up from 2 to 3 levels at once. The heart-pounding thrill of skill selection at this moment is a great joy. The sudden relief after barely holding on and running for your life is pure bliss. You'll no longer feel the frustration of "I died because I couldn't pick that up."

Upon completing a stage, you can review statistics and rewards, and receive additional rewards by watching ads. Furthermore, you can consistently acquire resources through initial stage clear rewards, auto-hunt earnings, and quick hunts. Utilize these systems actively to achieve efficient growth even as a free-to-play player.

6. Heroes & Robot Allies: Potent Back-up & Extra Growth

You are not alone. Powerful Heroes and loyal Robot Companions are ready to join you on the battlefield to aid your survival. Beyond simply fighting by your side, they add depth to gameplay and significantly boost your combat power through unique characteristics and skills, serving as key growth elements.

The Hero System: Shaking Up the Battlefield:

By accessing the Character tab in the bottom menu, you can encounter various heroes. The basic male character doesn't have any particular character traits. However, other heroes possess distinct hero traits, through which they dominate the battlefield with flashy effects. Naturally, each hero has different damage, attack traits, and speed, making it crucial to select a hero that aligns with your playstyle.

These powerful heroes can only be acquired through real money (paid currency). To incentivize spending, a trial version is offered for each character. Honestly, after trying all the hero trials, I felt that the fun of playing became even more exhilarating. Their powerful charm made me truly want to spend money. Characters purchasable with real money have excellent base attack power, significantly aiding progression.

However, free-to-play users need not despair. While only one character can currently be purchased with gems, you can consistently collect gems to unlock this character. While spending money is great, the satisfaction of developing characters yourself offers plenty of fun for free-to-play users. Notably, it uses a fixed purchase system rather than a gacha (chance-based) one, which is an advantage as it guarantees you get the character you want.

Reliable Companions: The Robot System:

Robots fight alongside you in the game, activating unique trait skills to assist in combat. Robot abilities significantly impact battle, so consistent upgrades are crucial. Robot upgrades are primarily possible by acquiring items in sub-games, making clearing main stages and sub-games absolutely essential for robot progression. Robots will serve as your reliable companions, playing a decisive role in navigating the zombie waves.

7. Gear & Items: Upgrade Strategies for Maximized Survival

To survive the endless zombie onslaught, not only powerful weapons but also solid gear and strategic item utilization are essential. The character menu offers a function to increase attack power through gear upgrades, and after completing main and sub-games, you'll receive better items the longer you survive. This section will detail gear and item tiers, upgrade methods, and hidden growth factors that will significantly boost your survival rate.

Gear Tiers, Acquisition, and Upgrades:

Gear is categorized into White, Green, Blue, S-Purple, and S-Legendary tiers. Higher-tier gear offers more powerful bonus options and stats. Gear is primarily acquired by defeating bosses, watching ads, or through auto-hunting. Acquired gear is strengthened by merging it to level up. Since each piece of gear has unique skills or traits, it's best to prioritize enhancing gear with traits that synergize well with your frequently used skills.

Weapon and gear enhancements and promotions can be reset for free, so don't hesitate to boldly proceed with upgrades to clear stages faster, which is much more beneficial for overall progression. If you primarily use a bullet build, a gun with high attack power is good. If you favor an elemental build, weapons and gear that increase fire rate or specific elemental attack power are recommended.

Various Support Items and Hidden Growth Factors:

In the Character tab of the bottom menu, in addition to heroes and robots, there are various support items like compasses, potions, brain computers, and blueprints. These items can increase attack power by gathering materials and upgrading them. While they might not show a huge increase in visible stats, consistent enhancement will subtly boost your overall combat power, acting as a hidden growth factor. Because these are incremental gains, the immediate change might not be obvious, but collecting them and upgrading them all at once can provide a sudden surge of power and satisfaction. Overcoming previously stuck stages and climbing arena ranks is one of the great joys.

Notably, certain armor provides a one-time revive function. This armor is highly valuable as it grants you an extra life when you're about to die, making it a favorite among many users for long-term use. Free-to-play users can also craft it from white tier all the way to yellow tier through consistent effort. The sense of accomplishment gained through this process, even if it feels like a painful and arduous journey, will ultimately significantly boost your survivability.

Overall, in this game, the longer you survive in main and sub-games, the better items you receive. Therefore, maximizing your playtime in each mode and wisely investing acquired resources to consistently upgrade your gear and support items is the core strategy for surviving the zombie apocalypse and advancing to higher stages.

8. Essential Tips & Bug Fixes: Enhancing Your Experience

While it receives high praise from many users for its excellent gameplay and immersion, it also has some areas needing improvement and minor drawbacks. Bugs or a lack of communication, in particular, can detract from the play experience. In this section, we share hidden tips known only to veterans, along with smart ways to deal with bugs that may arise during play, and other know-how to make the game more enjoyable.

Key Tips and System Utilization Know-How:

  • 1. Attendance Events and 7-Day Challenge Benefits are Essential:

    The in-game Daily Attendance Event and 7-Day Challenge Benefits are exceptionally good. These events allow you to consistently collect in-game currency and 7-day points. Notably, collecting 1600 points awards you an S-tier weapon, the Wind Rifle. For free-to-play users, this is an extremely important weapon source, so be sure to accumulate 7-day points to claim your rich rewards.

  • 2. Limitations of Guild and Friend Functions:

    It includes Guild and Friend Add functions, but their roles are currently not very significant. Guilds primarily offer rewards from the guild shop or by defeating guild bosses, and adding friends mainly allows for exchanging small amounts of gold or energy, with no major perceived benefits. Therefore, it's more efficient to focus on the main content rather than having high expectations for guild or friend features.

  • 3. The Satisfaction of Consistent Upgrades:

    The satisfaction of feeling a huge power surge rather than small increments when upgrading weapons, unlocking new ones, or enhancing gear is one of its greatest appeals. Breaking through previously stuck stages and climbing arena ranks makes players addicted. Since the game provides upgrades just when you're about to get tired, consistently play and bask in this growth satisfaction.

  • 4. Low Competitive Element in the Arena:

    While an Arena mode exists, users often comment that it's not a crucial piece of content and there are no other competitive elements. This acts as an advantage by leading to comparatively less relative deprivation, allowing players to focus on the inherent fun of the game without stress from competition.

Bug Workarounds and Communication Limitations:

  • 1. Incomplete Coupon System:

    Just a few weeks ago, coupons could be entered in settings, but currently, the coupon entry button is temporarily unavailable. Coupon codes like VIP666, VIP777, VIP888 can be useful to know in advance for when the feature becomes active again. It's advisable to check official or user communities for updated coupon information.

  • 2. Disappointing Hit Feedback and Bugs:

    Some users express that the hit feedback is slightly disappointing. Additionally, bugs such as the loss of hearts even when outside the red circle during boss attacks are reported. While these bugs can inconvenience gameplay, the advantage of a mid-game save feature allows you to resume play even if you crash, which is a major positive.

  • 3. Communication Issues with Developers:

    According to user feedback, the communication with developers is almost impossible, which is a regrettable point. This implies users may face difficulties conveying in-game inconveniences or suggestions. Therefore, when issues arise, it might be more effective to seek solutions or share information with other users through unofficial communities.

By utilizing these tips and information, you can maximize its potential and wisely manage any issues that arise, enjoying a more delightful survival experience.

9. Final Verdict: Should You Dive into This Survival Title?

Today, we've taken an in-depth look at this survival game. It exquisitely blends the thrill of the hack & slash genre with the unpredictable fun of roguelike survival, offering players a special enjoyment. The overall quality, diverse content volume, and most importantly, the fact that it's free to play are strong recommendations. Now, let's summarize the final evaluation and determine whether I recommend this to you.

What's Great About This Game! (Pros)

  • Free Play: It's free to download and play, offering very high accessibility.
  • The Thrill of Zombie Hunting: Zombie hunting is irresistibly addictive, and clearing zombies in a hack & slash style is excellent for stress relief.
  • Flashy Skill Graphics: The skill graphic effects are quite impressive, providing visual satisfaction.
  • Stable Play Environment: Even if the game crashes, the mid-game save function allows you to resume play, ensuring a smooth experience.
  • Ample Content Volume: The content volume is quite substantial, so you won't easily get bored and can play for a long time.
  • High Optimization: Its optimization is decent, and there is little heating during play.
  • Similar to Archero/Survivor.io: If you enjoyed playing Archero or Survivor.io, this game will likely suit your taste.
  • Intuitive Controls: Thanks to simple controls, even children can easily enjoy it.

What's Less Great About This Game! (Cons)

  • Slightly Disappointing Hit Feedback: Some users report that the hit feedback is slightly lacking.
  • Monetization Elements: While early game is easy for free-to-play users, mid-to-late game requires investing time and money.
  • Limited Skill Variety: There are also comments that the skill variety is somewhat insufficient.
  • Lack of Communication: The fact that communication with developers is almost impossible is a regrettable aspect.
  • Specific Bug: A bug exists where hearts are lost even when outside the red circle during boss attacks, which can hinder the play experience.

Final Conclusion: Highly Recommended for Hack & Slash Survival Fans!

Despite its few drawbacks, it is highly recommended for users who want to experience both the satisfying hit feedback of hack & slash and the thrill of extreme survival simultaneously. Its engaging progression system and addictive gameplay loop, which are enjoyable even for free-to-play users, will make you lose track of time.

Of course, there's room for improvement regarding bugs and hit feedback. However, this easy-to-play game is definitely worth a spot on your mobile game list. Dive in now and embark on the exhilarating experience of mowing down endless waves of zombies!




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